‘Ubinadam’ is a swahili word meaning humanity. Our name is inspired by our desire and commitment to serve people. The prefix ‘ubin’ in the word “ubinadam” is a connotation which points to the fact that we are all descendants of one man, who is the biblical “Adam”, hence ethically we feel devoted to be watching one another’s back and to having compassion for ALL.

Ubin-Adam Afrika is a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) registered by the Kenyan NGO coordination board in September, 2021. Our registration number is OP.218/051/21-103/12206. We are mandated by the Kenyan government to operate in five counties in Kenya namely: Migori, Homabay, Kisumu, Nairobi and Machakos.

Education remains one of the major areas of hindrance for Children with Disabilities in Migori County and in Kenya generally. It is estimated that more than 50% of CWDs drop out of school before completion due to a number of factors. Some of these factors include: lack of school fees and school materials, low motivation due to stigma and past negative experiences such as abuse, long distance from home to school, unfavorable school environments which hinder access to school facilities e.g inauspicious classrooms and washrooms doorways, lack of assistive gadgets that support mobility, vision and hearing.

Under the SUNCEP trial project, through our collaboration with ADRA Hungary, we directly support the educational needs of seven (7) Children with Disabilities (CWDs). We provide their school supplies e.g. uniforms, school shoes, text books, classwork books, pens, pencils, geometrical tools etc. Moreover, we take care of both their school tuition costs and transportation costs to and from school. We also carry out frequent school visits to check on kids' progress and to ensure kids are safe and well supported in the schools where we have enrolled them. This way we make it possible for the CWDs in our communities to have access to education. The children we support in this program come from extremely poor families which can not afford to pay for school fees and to purchase other school needs for their children.

It’s now one year and some months since we started this program and we are glad to report that we have started seeing some incredible initial successes in the lives of our kids especially in the academic and social sectors. The progresses we have noted include: improvement in literacy abilities, improvement in school attendance and improvement on CWDs social interaction with other kids who have no disabilities.

There is a big need to have additional CWDs to get enrolled in our education program but at the moment the resources we have are limited and can only allow us to support the 7 children.

Our plan is to add at least 30 CWDs into our education program by the beginning of the year 2024. This way we’ll be able to have a relatively greater impact in the communities where we work.

The cost of caring for one (1) child is about $40 a month. This covers school fees, uniforms, shoes, transportation and some administration costs. We’ll need about $14,400 to successfully add 30 CWDs in our program by next year 2024.

• A large gift
• Yearly gifts
• Quarterly gifts
• Monthly gifts

Muhuru-Bay is one of the Kenya’s 1,450 administrative wards. According to the 2019 Kenya National Census records, the general population of Muhuru-Bay is 40,000 people. Muhuru is situated in the Western parts of Kenya within the wider Migori county. The bay lies along the shores of lake Victoria at coordinates 0°59′53″S 34°5′41″E/ 0.99806°S 34.09472°E and shares borders with both Tanzania and Uganda.

Small holder Agriculture and fishing activities continues to dominate the livelihood and economic performances of the Muhuru ward.

Despite Muhuru Bay being rich in natural resources such as fresh water lake, fairly arable land and youthful manpower, it is one of the most marginalized, poorest and underserved rural villages in Kenya. Muhuru is plagued with high rates of hunger, illiteracy, increased trends of youth and women unemployment as well as high levels of diseases especially HIV/AIDS and malaria.

EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES FOR CWDS IN KENYA

Among the many challenges faced by CWDs,access to education remains one of the most critical areas of hindrance. In Kenya special needs education is provided in special schools,integrated units and in inclusive settings in regular schools. It is however, estimated that more than 50% of CWDs drop out of school before completion due to a number of factors. Which include: long distance to schools, the structural inaccessibility of the classrooms, low number of teachers with special needs training, low number of special needs schools, lack of friendly physical infrastructure, the cost of education and stigma against CWDs among other factors.

Our Longterm Education Plan

Our long term educational goal is to establish a Primary school for Children with disability in Migori County Kenya. This school will have teachers who are well trained in special education, will feature structurally accommodative facilities for CWDs and it will be equipped with special education learning materials. The school will also provide

amenities that will support emotional, speech, behavioural and physical therapeutical needs

of the CWDs.

The Ubin-Adam Afrika school of special needs will be one of it’s kind within the county. It will be a model school where other local schools and teachers can learn better practice on the subject of caring for and educating CWDs.

Christian Mentorship

To mentor is to influence to guide to coach, to shape and to direct a less experienced person along the path of excellence and success in a given field. At the Ubin-Adam Afrika school of Special needs, we’ll offer one to one christian based mentorship to the kids in the school.

This program will shape our kids in the following areas: understanding of the biblical principles, understanding of the basic life skills such as: First Aid, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, decision making, stress management, speech, active listening, problem solving, time management, creativity, critical thinking, cooking, goal setting, hygiene and leadership. Our mentorship program will help the kids become well informed about life, become responsible, have high self esteem and be competent.

Each kid will be assigned a mentor. Our mentors will have to be trained adult christian volunteers from the local communities who have good moral standing in the society, who desire to positively impact the lives of young people and who are professionals in various fields.

We’ll have a mentorship curriculum that will guide on the standard practice. Later on after completion of school, mentees will also have chances to become mentors for kids who are newly enrolled into the program.

PROFESSIONAL GAP FOR PWDs IN MIGORI COUNTY

People with Disabilities in Migori County are professionally marginalised. A majority of this group are unemployed and have no income at all. A smaller section of PWDs eke out their livelihoods through begging on the streets. Some also survive on handouts and on engagement in menial trades such as roadside shoe repair business. Very slim pickings of educated PWDs do succeed to secure formal employment despite the Kenya law requirement that 5% of all formal jobs should be reserved for PWDs.

Due to lack of good education, PWDs are systematically pushed away from profitable careers. Consequentially more than 98% of PWDs live in abject poverty.

They really don’t have to be beggars! They shouldn’t do menial jobs if they don't want to! At the Ubin-Adam Afrika school for the Special needs, we’ll offer STEM program for kids with interests in Science and Technology. Just at their tender ages, we’ll ensure that these kids have a platform to explore their talents and abilities. We’ll nurture them in a way that they will be well prepared for future rewarding and profitable careers.

Will you Support our School Construction Program?

Funds Needed for:

• Architectural planning
• Purchasing a piece of land (5 to 10 acres)
• Construction of: classrooms, dinning space, offices,
• library, computer lab, dormitories , conference hall,
• swimming pool, gym and physical therapy unit.

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